SAP to spin out Qualtrics via an IPO
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Jul 28, 2020
Under the proposed initial public offering, SAP would retain a majority stake in Qualtrics and Smith would be the second-largest shareholder. Qualtrics' leadership team intends to remain in place, including founder Ryan Smith, who will be the largest individual shareholder.
SAP SE said it will sell a stake in its Qualtrics customer-survey software unit through a USA public offering less than two years after buying the firm to help compete with Salesforce Inc.
SAP SE plans to list its Qualtrics software unit less than two years after buying the company for a record sum, a surprise about-face that signals a strategic shift under new Chief Executive Officer Christian Klein.
Qualtrics supports more than 50 federal agencies through its Experience Management Platform, which is certified under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program and created to help agencies improve the citizen experience and employee engagement.
SAP agreed to acquire Qualtrics just four days before Qualtrics was to go public in 2018, with the German software giant at the time recognising the potential of bringing together experience and operational data to be leveraged by corporate customers. SAP is apparently committed to Qualtrics's Experience Management platform and will remain as a key element to its intelligent enterprise strategy.
Mr Klein added that said that an IPO would provide the "greatest opportunity" for Qualtrics to grow. "SAP said the timing and final decision for the IPO is still pending, and subject to market conditions", writes Reuters' Douglas Busvine.
SAP's Q2 profit after tax jumped by over 50 percent to 885 million euros, "primarily due to a significantly lower impact from restructuring expenses" compared with the previous year, the company said in a statement. "To spin out that bright spot in its book - and look to ride its upside indirectly - is a bold early move for ..."
Qualtrics Founder Ryan Smith was reported saying that SAP is a favorable partner with unmatched global reach, and the company is thrilled to continue the partnership, which will allow for developing the XM ecosystem for a broader array of partners.
SAP shares were up 3.7% to 140.56 euros at 0820 GMT on July 27.
